


The Sword that Seals

by thellamaofthesouth



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe, Breath of the Wild Spoilers, Divine Beasts, It start really slow but it's getting there I promise, Master Sword, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Calamity Ganon, Zelda's Awakening
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:13:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22343158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thellamaofthesouth/pseuds/thellamaofthesouth
Summary: What would have happened if Ganon woke up just a bit later?Game SpoilersAlternate universe where the Champions don't die fighting the blights, Link doesn't go in the Shrine of Resurrection, and Zelda still doesn't know how to use her powers.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Before I start, I just wanted to give a shout out to tirsynni. Their story "Final Thoughts (An Beginning Prayers)" definitely inspired this whole thing.

Disappointment hung heavy in the air that surrounded the Champions. It was as though everyone had lost the last bit of hope they had left since the Princess and her knight had returned from the Spring of Wisdom empty handed. They all knew that the journey would most likely be fruitless, but they also knew that it was one of the last chances the had for the sealing power to awaken. 

Since then, the Champions had been working in overdrive to prepare themselves for the Calamity. Though no signs of Ganon’s presence had been seen yet, they all knew that his arrival would soon be upon them. Revali had returned to Rito village in hopes that he and Medoh may be able to perch themselves atop the pillar in the center of the village. He speculated that it may be just strong enough to support the weight of the Beast which would provide him with a clearer shot to the castle. Mipha had also returned home. Though she hesitated to leave the castle, and Link, she knew that she must spend as much time with her family as possible while she still could. 

Urbosa and Daruk had elected to stay near the castle. Unlike Mipha and Revali, it was much harder for messengers to reach Goron City through the blistering heat, or Gerudo Town as a particularly bad band of sandstorms had begun blocking the path from the bazaar to the town’s gates. They mostly spent their time helping the Princess or training.

Since returning to the castle, Zelda had once restarted her research with the Guardians. Her father, though reluctant to let her work with the dangerous contraptions, had agreed to let her continue her studies. He knew that continuing to push her would only work to drive her into a deeper depression, and that it was unlikely the sealing power could be awakened simply by prayer and intense study. All he wanted now was to see his daughter happy again.

That left Link mostly to his own devices. He often accompanied the Princess on various shrine visits and meetings, but when she was on castle grounds he was free to do as he pleased. He had attempted to guard her study door while she was working, but she had dismissed him saying that he must have better things to do than stand around all day. While he worried about leaving her for such extended periods of time, Link made good use of his new found freedom. Ever since the Guardian the Princess was studying went insane he had been working on improving his parrying skills. Though a Hylian shield would serve him better than a pot lid, he needed to be cautious because hitting the beam at the wrong angle was likely to cause it to break.

Things repeated like this for several days. Link trained from dawn until dusk while the Princess attempted to learn everything she could about the Sheikah technology. Wondering if he could be of any use, Link returned to the Princess’s study. After knocking on the door, he was greeted not by the Princess, but Lady Urbosa. 

“What a coincidence, just the person we were talking about.” Without clarifying Urbosa turned and walked back into the room.

“Yes, Link, I’m glad you’ve happened to stop by.” It was the Princess this time. She looked tired, worn down from hours locked away in her study, but also happier than Link could remember seeing her. He knew that she still felt ashamed of not being able to awaken the sealing power, but he hoped that the break had helped her to realize that she was so much more than just a vessel for an ancient power, and that the weight of the world need naught bare down solely on her shoulders. “I will be accompanying Urbosa back to Gerudo to see if Naboris was impacted by the recent sandstorms. Seeing as you are not allowed inside of the town, it would be pointless for you to accompany me. I request that you stay here and continue your training with the Master Sword. Urbosa along with a few other Gerudo warriors have agreed to accompany me on the journey.”

He couldn’t allow her to simply leave, unprotected. Yes, he realized that there would be several highly skilled Gerudo warriors protecting her, but what if that was not enough? What if she was hurt, or worse, and he failed? What if he failed the King and his orders to keep her safe? What if he failed her?

“Now, Link, I know you must be worried, but you must trust us. We will keep the Princess safe. You have my word, I swear to Hylia herself and my life rests upon it.” Urbosa, though still relatively young in comparison to past Gerudo chiefs, was far more wise and mature than she should be. She was like a mother to the Princess, and Link knew that she would do everything to keep her safe. He trusted her; he had no choice. 

“Now, run along. I do believe that my father was looking for you.”


	2. Chapter 2

“This is odd, Urbosa. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such markings in any of the Sheikah technology we have seen before. What do you think it means?” Zelda studied the machines control panel. Upon entering the Beast, the panel had begun to change color from it’s normal Sheikah blue to a light purple, and new markings had appeared. It was rather peculiar, as Zelda had not previously known any Shekiah markings to just appear, or even change, before this.

“I do not know little bird, but whatever it is it is most likely not good. I will speak to the guards and see if the have any idea what is causing this new sandstorms so close to the town. That may shed some light as to what is happening. ” 

“Yes, that sounds like a brilliant idea. In the meantime, why don’t we travel back to the outpost. Perhaps we can spot something new from up there.”

After a fruitless day of observing the blowing sand, Zelda conceded that there was nothing new to be learned and opted to return to town. It was nearing dinner time and she was hopeful that she may be able to study the images she had of Naboris in greater detail against some of the books she had brought with her. If she could just find something, anything to go on, she may be able to determine what was causing Naboris to react in this way.

Though it took much convincing, Urbosa had managed to get Zelda to agree to eating with her before running off with her books. “So, Princess, what are your plans from here? Will you be staying in Gerudo for awhile? We would love to have you, and the guards have been hoping to teach you some self defense while you are here. They believe that it would be best if you were well prepared for what is to come, and I tend to agree. Your loyal knight may not always be there to protect you.” Urbosa worried about the girl. Not only was she needlessly doubting herself and her powers, she seemed to have lost all joy in her life. Her father pushed her far too hard, and while she knew he had good intentions Urbosa would love nothing more than to wring his neck. The girl deserved nothing more than happiness, not the shame she constantly felt. 

“Well, I planned on beginning our trip home tomorrow. Father has plans to speak to the citizens of Castle Town in the coming days. He wants to raise their morale and present a united front to assuage their panic. Rumors have been spreading for some time now that the Calamity will be upon us any day now, and he would like to quell those as much as possible. There is no need for a kingdom wide panic. He wants me there to show support and to prove that I am not just galavanting around wasting time while the threat hangs over all of our heads.”

“I see, well, then we best make the most of tonight. I will escort you back to the castle tomorrow, but in the meantime let us rest. Why don’t we make our way to the spa? I think we could both use a bit of a break.”

Nighttime came too soon for Zelda’s liking, and morning not soon enough. Her dreams were plagued by visions of death and destruction. She knew that Ganon was not as far away from them as her father would like to lead everyone to believe. When the morning finally came, she awoke to see Urbosa talking to a guard in hushed tones. She had stayed the night in the chief’s room to ensure that she would be well protected. Wondering what was happening, she tried to listen in on the conversation, but the voices were too low for her to hear.

“Zelda, darling, you need not strain to hear us. You are not a child, you may come join us. I was just being cautious as to not wake you.” Zelda could feel her cheeks burning. How could she be so foolish, Urbosa wasn’t her father, of course she wouldn’t scold her or try to keep things from her. “We were just discussing the Divine Beasts. A messenger came this morning, he said that each of the Beasts had been reacting in similar ways to Naboris.”

Zelda scrunched her face. It didn’t make sense, Naboris was reacting to the sandstorms, was he not? What was causing the other beasts to act in such a way? “That is quite odd. We will have to investigate this phenomenon more, but for now we must return to the castle. From what I’ve heard the other Champions will be there as well so we can ask them about the other Beasts.”


	3. Chapter 3

Revali was in a more toxic mood than usual. His feathers were ruffled and out of place from the flight from Rito to the castle. The winds had been particularly vicious as of late, and if he had had the choice he would not have come back to the castle at all. This stupid ceremony was a waste of his precious time.

“Master Revali, how good to see you again. How was your trip?” Turning, Revali noticed Mipha walking towards him. She too seemed a bit more flustered than normal, but Revali disregarded it. _Probably off chasing that idiotic knight or something foolish like that._ “I hope it went better than mine. It seems like the rain around the domain simply won’t stop and it keeps causing landslides to drop debris into the water. It’s making the rivers much more difficult to navigate. “

“Surely your trip couldn’t have been nearly as treacherous as mine. I was nearly blown out of the sky by the winds. All for what? A foolish ceremony that will do nothing more than make a few people feel slightly better?” he huffed. 

“Master Revali, I’m sure you are aware that today’s ceremony is meant to show the kingdom a united front and to display the very best of what Hyrule has to offer.” It appeared as though the Princess and Urbosa had managed to sneak up on him when he was addressing Mipha. She was being rather condescending for someone who still had yet to be helpful at all in fixing their current predicament. If it were up to him, Ganon would have shown himself already and he would have used that damned sword to seal him away himself. 

“Why, yes Princess, but-”

“Then I suggest you start acting like the Champion you are supposed to be.”

Revali scowled. It was plain to see that the Princess was biting her tongue, wishing to lash out at him like she had her knight not too long ago, but she resisted. He was well aware that everyone thought he was unworthy of the Champion title, but he also knew that his grace and skill alone were more than enough to set him apart. 

He was spared from further conversation when Daruk rolled up to join the group. Like Mipha and himself, he seemed a little worse for the wear. His Champion sash had small burns in it, and his arms were full of small scrapes. “Sorry I’m late, I was rolling my way down here when Death Mountain started going crazy. I had to help some fellow Gorons make sure there weren’t any travelers that could get hurt.”

“That is odd. Revali, Mipha, did you not also say that the weather was less than ideal for your travels?” The Princess was thinking of something. It was clear on her face that she was off somewhere thinking about Goddess knows what.< p/>

“Yes, it was rather odd. Sidon wanted to come with me on the visit, but the conditions were just too dangerous to risk bringing him.”

“Indeed, I’m afraid I also suffered some unfortunate conditions. The gusts surrounding Rito have been rather extreme lately. Several Rito have been injured while flying to the surrounding trade districts.”

“I wonder if all this weather has anything to do with the way that the Divine Beasts have been acting lately. It seems to add up, but what is causing it? We haven’t seen any signs of Ganon yet, but I worry that this may be a sign of his arrival.”

“Well, Princess, there is no time to worry now,” Urbosa laid her hand on the girl’s shoulder, “the ceremony will be starting soon. We best be on our way if we plan on making it on time.” She was right, but there was something missing.

“But what about that child you call a knight? Shouldn’t he be gracing us with his presence today, or has he decided that he and his ridiculous sword are too good to be associating with us?” One thing was for sure, if Revali had to suffer through this ceremony, there was no way in hell _Link_ was getting out of it.

“Yeah, where is the little guy? I brought him some rock roast, the best we Gorons have.”

“Do not worry, Daruk, Link is simply running an errand for me before the ceremony starts. My father plans on officially inducting him into the Royal Guard, meaning that he will have to learn the history of Hyrule and pass a written and oral examination on the topic, so I asked him to gather some extra books from the library while he was studying so that I may read them later. He should be back before the ceremony starts. Now, let us head over least we anger my father.” 

With that, she turned and walked back towards Castle Town. Revali exhaled heavily and stretched out his shoulders. He had a feeling this was going to be a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear it's going somewhere. I just have a lot of thoughts.

The ceremony was about to start and Link was nowhere to be seen. Zelda would be lying if she said she wasn’t worried. What if some Yiga members ambushed him? What if he saw someone getting attacked by bokoblins and decided to come to their aid, but had been injured? _Nonsense, he was probably just caught up training or studying and someone needed to remind him that he had actual responsibilities to attend to._

In the meantime, her father was just about to begin his speech. Looking at him, Zelda didn’t really recognize him. He looked more calm and at peace than she had seen him in such a long time. Perhaps it was just because he was putting on a face, but if she looked close she could see resignation in his eyes. _He has just come to terms with the fact that I am a failure. He has learned that no matter how hard I try I cannot live up to my potential._

Walking to the center of the stage, King Rhoam began to speak. “Citizens of Castle Town, I have called you all here today to put your minds at ease. I have heard the rumors and I know that you all fear the coming Calamity, but I assure you that it is not yet upon us. Our Champions are working hard to…” The King droned on, but Zelda found it hard to listen. She felt like she was going to vomit. She had never had stage fright, but she felt terribly anxious. Her stomach felt like it was full of lead, yet also like it was trying to pull itself into the smallest ball possible. Her chest hurt every time she took a breath that was slightly too deep and it tugged on her heart. She was panicking but she did not know why. She was supposed to look dignified and strong, but something was terribly wrong. 

“Now, before I end I would like to remind you all that the Champions and my daughter included, have a full plan in place in case…” The ground beneath her was moving. Goddess, she was going to die why did it feel like the world was moving. Looking around, Zelda noticed that the other Champions also looked concerned. In fact, the entire crowd was moving. It wasn’t just in her head the whole world was moving. 

The sound that followed sounded like a thousand bomb arrows going off. The ground erupted, giant pillars rivaling the Rito escaped from the ground covered in bright red markings. It was like all the Sheikah technology she had seen before, but yet it felt corrupted. From the ground flooded Guardians. They weren’t simply the Guardian Stalkers she had been studying either, but flying Guardians and Guardians with swiveling heads. 

She turned to face her father. He was ordering the knights to shelter the citizens, destroy the Guardians, save her, but she didn’t hear any of it. Instead, she looked beyond him to see the castle engulfed in angry red and pink tendrils. She heard a shrill, piercing cry and her blood went cold. 

The Calamity had arrived.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're cooking with a match and doritos now.

Link was cursing at himself. He knew that he shouldn’t have stopped at the library before the ceremony, but the Princess had requested that he gather a few books for her since he was “already heading there” and he didn’t have the heart to tell her that he was actually heading to the kitchens. His goal had been to steal a quick snack before the ceremony, but it appears as though his plans had changed. 

The library was somewhere where Link seldom went. Most of his time was spent training or watching over the Princess. So, despite his best efforts it took him much longer to find the books both he and the Princess needed than he had expected. Every shelf was full to the point of almost overflowing with novels, stories, research papers, and whatever other documents the kingdom had acquired. He had hoped that the books would be organized in a way that was easy to follow, but that didn’t appear to be the case. Try as he might, he couldn’t locate any of the things he had set out to find.

Begrudgingly, he relented to asking Myra for help. Myra was a small, frail old woman who kept watch over the library. She took meticulous records of every shred of paper that entered the castle walls and who was in possession of it. While Link did very much enjoy talking to her, he simply had no time to deal with her. She had a tendency to ramble on and on about any given topic which he supposed was the one major side effect of being constantly surrounded by so many books. All of the knowledge she accumulated needed to escape her sometime, and it appeared as if today Link would the unfortunate recipient. 

Once Link handed Myra the list she immediately began her quest. She walked at a surprisingly brisk pace for someone who was only 4’5” and was mostly likely 80 years old, but she was on a mission.

“Oh, Link, I really must give you a lesson on the filing system her at the library. I think that it could be very helpful for you. I know that the King intends on making you a part of the Royal Guard, a very high honor indeed, which means that you will most likely be spending more time here. Yes, yes, remind me sometime to give you a more in depth overview. Aha!” Myra struggled under the weight of the enormous book. It was the only known copy of Sheikah: A Comprehensive Study in the castle and perhaps the entire kingdom. It was an ancient beast most likely written when the Guardians were built that documented the tribe. However, it had aged poorly and most of the pages were completely illegible. Further, from what he had heard most of the remaining excerpts were written in glyphs similar to what could be seen on the Shrines scattered around the landscape. He doubted that much of what remained could be useful to them, but he also knew that if anyone could decipher it, it would be Zelda. 

The next hour was spent following Myra around the library as she mumbled to herself about a new sorting system she was working on (every category will have a number, and from there each book would be given a specific unique number, and on and on). Thankfully, he managed to escape sooner than he was expecting. He hurried over to the Princess’s study. All he had to do was set the books done and he could quickly change into his Champion shirt and run down to the ceremony. While there was definitely no way he was going to be on time, if he hurried he could make it there just before the Princess started her portion. The King had tasked her with talking about the work the Champions had been doing. 

Sprinting through the castle, he began to notice something off. Looking around he noticed that the torches that lit the hall were all flickering, and the stench of sulfur filled the air. He shook his head, this was no time for distractions. He reached the study, opened the door and haphazardly tossed the books inside. Turning around, he began racing back down the halls. 

As he was turning down the last corridor, he was knocked off his feet. Around him the walls began trembling, dropping pieces of stones and dust. Examining the area, he noticed that all the torches had burnt out and a red, smokey haze had begun to fill the room. Getting to his feet, he looked around. Something was very wrong, and there was no way he could just ignore it. Navigating his way through the maze of Hyrule Castle, he let his feet guide the way. He never stopped, only occasionally slowing to avoid broken furniture or stones. Bounding up the last set of stairs, he finally realized where he was. Without even thinking he had made his way to the entrance of the sanctum. 

The normally inviting ornate room was filled with a giant cloud of black smoke. It swirled around the room followed by long, winding red tendrils. Reaching for his sword, Link readied himself. As soon as the blade was unsheathed, a piercing cry filled the room causing Link to instinctively take a step back. The smoke began to rise, snaking its way to the ceiling. The wisps of red and black danced together, weaving around each other until it began to solidify. From the cloud emerged a horrendous looking creature. The beast was absolutely massive, towering over Link, making even the enormous Sanctum appear small. It was a grotesque caricature of a spider. Legs exploded from its body and yellow eyes glowed menacingly at him. Perhaps worst of all was the slime that covered its entirety. It bubbled and oozed, nasty black and red curling its way around the contorted framework. It moved around the beast as if it had a mind of its own, and it tore and dripped when the beast moved. 

Link stood watching the beast in horror. Terror filled him as he realized that it was Calamity Ganon, the exact thing he was tasked with stopping. This was everything the Champions and himself had been training for; the thing for which he had sacrificed so much, but he was frozen. They weren’t ready, he wasn’t ready. Yes, he had prophesied sword, but he didn’t know how to use it. Much like the Princess, he had yet to truly understand the power he’d been given.

_Link… Link…_

Was...was the beast speaking to him? Could that monster even form words? No, it wasn’t the beast speaking, it was the sword. He could hear her, just like Zelda had claimed she could. 

_Link, you must listen, there is not much time. You must use the sword’s power to trap the beast. It will not hold Ganon for long, but it will buy the others time. You must stop him now before he is free to wreak havoc on the world._

Looking at his sword, he knew what he had to do. Grabbing the hilt with both hands he raised it in front of him pointing the blade towards the ground. It shone brighter than ever before, radiating power. The beast paused, staring down at him causing Link to hesitate. _Am I sure I want to do this? Is there really no other way?_ Link did not have long to ponder these questions, as the beast lurched forward with a screech. Before the beast could reach him, he plunged the blade into the ground. 

Light erupted from the crack. Shrieking in pain, the beast fell back desperate to get away. Around them, a glowing dome was beginning to form, covering the windows and the walls and bathing the room in warm light. The beast shriveled in one itself, attempting to get itself away from the walls. It lunged upwards, reaching for the ceiling in a final attempt to break out, but it was too late. The dome closed itself with a satisfying _clink_. They were sealed in.

Holding the sword, Link stared at the beast quivering before him. He knew it would not be long before the beast attempted to break its way through, but he hoped it’d be enough. It had to be enough.


End file.
